December 2, 2009 (OERB). Through voluntary funds paid by oil and natural gas producers and royalty owners, the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB) will begin work to clean up its 10,000th site after a news conference on Wednesday, Dec. 9th.

“In 1994, Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas industry made a promise to this great state,” said OERB Executive Director Mindy Stitt. “They vowed to pay money out of their own pocket, to assess a tax on themselves, to clean up the mistakes of an unregulated past. We have kept that promise and intend to continue our work with the help of those generous contributions.”

The OERB completed its first restoration sites in fall of 1994, one of which was a ranch in Pontotoc County. Since then, sites have been restored in 65 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties. Created by the Oklahoma Legislature in 1993, the OERB is funded voluntarily by oil and natural gas producers and royalty owners through a one-tenth of one percent assessment on the sale of oil and natural gas. The OERB’s purpose is to conduct environmental restoration of orphaned and abandoned well sites and to educate Oklahomans about energy. Read the full article here.